When a monster loves something, he holds on to it tightly, even at the risk of smothering it.
That night started the slow smothering of Rowena Wickham.
Sixteen
Ro stepped from the hotel and took a deep breath. She’d hoped for fresh air and instead got nothing but smog and dino dung. She seriously missed the fresh air of the desert and would relish escaping the smell of Embertown when they rode out to her crew. But they couldn’t leave yet. She still had a job to do. And while she could probably leave it as is, she should stir up as much trouble as possible before she left, keep them entertained while they rode in the next day and robbed the town blind.
Ro was starting to feel a little bad about it, but honestly, they couldn’t settle down without the large haul, and they’d be paying for any land they purchased with the money they stole, so she rationalized in her mind that they were almost giving some of the money back. It almost worked.
Walking down the road to the jail, Ro was feeling a little nervous. She’d never planned to actually sleep with the Rexes, and if she was being honest with herself, she’d admit that she was doing so for purely selfish reasons and not for the plan at all, but she didn’t like to focus too hard on those thoughts. She liked King and Sheriff Bennett. In another time, she might have stayed here for a while and seen where nature took them, but Ro was an outlaw, enemy number one of both men. There couldn’t really be a future between them that worked out, and both were probably too hardheaded to accept her for who she really was.
Ro didn’t like stealing, but she didn’t really have a choice, not anymore. The moment she’d pointed her revolver at the bank owner who’d stolen her father’s land, she’d changed. She was beyond saving once Les got a hold of her. She liked the freedom too much, and while Embertown had given her a small taste of that freedom, she wasn’t sure she could ever give up being an outlaw.
The jail wasn’t as dark as she expected, since there was a lantern flickering enough to cast an orange glow through the bars. Ro knocked on the doorframe before stepping inside, and immediately deflated to see it wasn’t Boone behind the desk.
“Can I help ya?” the man asked, his feet kicked up on the desktop. The town drunk was in the jail cell as usual. Ro was starting to think he lived there.
“I’m looking for Sheriff Bennett.”
“He went home already.”
Ro looked a little closer and saw the gold star on this man’s chest, the word “Deputy” emblazoned in the same place that Boone’s showed “Sheriff.” She’d assumed Embertown didn’t have a deputy, never having seen the man before.
“Can you tell me where his home is?” Ro requested hesitantly, uncertain if it was common knowledge or not.
“Turn left at the end of the road. You’ll run right into his cabin just on the edge of town.”
“Thank you, Deputy—”
“Rogers,” he finished, meeting her eyes briefly before he returned to the book in his hands.
“Thank you for your help, Deputy Rogers.”
He tipped his hat and returned to his book, promptly forgetting she was there. Like the sheriff, the deputy was younger than she expected the Embertown law to be, but he seemed fully capable. He was also very human, further showing what Ro believed—that Embertown really did try to stay equal between species.
Ro left the jail behind and followed Deputy Rogers’ directions, turning left at the end of the street. She ran into the small cabin almost immediately and was surprised to see Boone sitting on the steps, looking up at the stars.
He had to have heard her approach, but he didn’t turn away from the sky, just stayed where he was as relaxed as a well-fed kitten. For once, he didn’t seem on edge, or as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“The stars are always the prettiest just after sunset,” he murmured.
“You should see them from out in the desert. When you’re farther from the city, they’re even brighter.”
Boone finally turned to look at her and his eyes twinkled with the light of the stars he’d been admiring. “So, it looks like you found me.”
Ro arched her brow, the corner of her lips curling slightly. “It wasn’t that hard. Your deputy pointed me in the right direction.”
“Sounds like Rogers, alright. And what did you come to find me for?”
“I suppose we could just look at the stars,” Ro offered, looking up. “It’s been a while since I could sit down long enough to admire them.”
Boone patted the wood step beside him, and Ro moved forward without hesitation. Something about the sheriff put her at ease, even with the tension between them. She took a seat, her thigh brushing against his, and leaned back on her elbows to stare at the blinking lights in the sky.
“When I was little, my momma used to tell me that the stars were dinosaurs that hadn’t made it here yet,” Boone spoke, his voice low.
Ro wrinkled her brow and looked over at the sheriff’s profile, his jawline strong and tempting. “What do you mean?”
“She said that dinosaurs were God’s gift to mankind, that he sent us down from the sky to live here and show them how to be human. She used to smile when she said it, and I’d always ask the same thing.”
“What?” Ro was incredibly curious. She’d never heard another dinosaur speak of their beliefs before.
“I asked her if we were God’s gift, then why did the humans treat us like we were trash.” Boone finally turned to look at Ro, his eyes sad. “Eventually, some humans got to my momma, hunted her down like a rabid dog. She’d managed to hide me before they’d come, and I couldn’t see, but I could hear. As those assholes murdered her, I heard her whisper, ‘don’t come out,’ ‘I love you,’ and ‘goodbye.’”
Ro stared at the Rex beside her in horror, her own eyes misting at the lack of emotion in his. It must have been long ago, but Ro still didn’t understand how he could look at a human the same way again. How could he not hate all humans after witnessing that?
“Please tell me you hunted every single one of them down,” she whispered, and she knew if he said, “no,” she’d make sure to do it herself.
“The moment I got big enough, I murdered every single one,” Boone admitted. “Then I made my way to Embertown and became the sheriff.”
“How can you stand to look at us?” she asked. “If my dad had been murdered by dinos, I don’t know if I’d have been so forgiving.”
“It’s not about forgiveness, troublemaker. It’s about realizing that there are good people and bad people. That’s something my momma made sure to teach me, and when she died, it would have been easy to blame the whole race, but see, she raised me better than that.” He smiled. “Besides, you’re pretty nice to look at.”
“I appreciate you sharing your story, but why are you tellin’ me this?” Ro stared at him in confusion.
“Sometimes people need to know that there is bad and good, but that nothing is all black and white. You can have a good person do bad things, or a bad person do good things. That doesn’t make them any less good, or any less bad. It’s about what’s inside their heart.”
His words hit home hard and Ro fought not to show any emotion as she looked away and back up to the stars. The downfall of sitting next to a Rex was knowing he had to have heard her heart rate speed up and the change in her breathing. She agreed that things were rarely black and white, especially in the West. People did things to survive that they said they’d never do. Sometimes, it wasn’t about having the quickest draw, but how to shoot someone who outdrew you. The West was brutal and unforgiving. Sometimes, her people had to be the same.
“My dad used to tell me that I could be whatever I wanted,” Ro whispered, her thigh brushing against Boone’s as he shifted closer to listen. “He said, ‘girl, ain’t no one ever made history by sitting around and wishing for it. You gotta get up and do it yourself. Don’t wait for someone else to come along and do it for you.’”
“Sounds like your dad would have gotten along with m
y momma.”
“They would have. My dad, he didn’t have a mean bone in his body, and he couldn’t follow his own advice most of the time because he didn’t have much spine other than when it came to his family, but he loved as fiercely as any Rex until the day he died.”
“We’re shaped by those who raised us,” Boone said, nodding. “It makes sense that we became who we are when we were raised by obvious saints.”
Ro chuckled and finally met Boone’s eyes again. This time, their gazes held, and the bright blue held her captive as they sparkled and shifted. “What is it you want from me, sheriff?” she queried, her voice almost a whisper.
He smiled, his posture still lazy, before he shifted closer. “I thought that was rather obvious?”
“Color me dense then, ‘cause I understand the attraction. I just don’t understand the pursuit.”
Boone reached up and cupped her jaw, his fingers rough from work in the best way. With his other hand, he plucked off first his hat and then her own, setting them safely to the side. “I’m the sheriff,” he replied, leaning forward. “I deal with criminals and drunks every day. You’re definitely a troublemaker, and lately, I’ve been tempted to start a little trouble of my own.”
“Oh?” Ro might have stopped breathing as his breath fanned across her face. She reached up and curled her fingers around his wrist, not pulling him away, just holding on.
“I realize that King is trying to put a claim on you. I ain’t trying to do all that. See, I understand that you can’t be claimed. It would be stupid to tame a wild stallion. It would be just as stupid to attempt to tame you.”
Ro’s lips dropped open in surprise and Boone took complete advantage. He slanted his mouth across hers, his taste of gin and licorice filling her up. There was something like coiled strength in the sheriff, and Ro didn’t believe it was only because he was a Rex. He was made of stronger stuff, just like King. Whatever Embertown was, it was lucky to have two such men protecting it.
His tongue swept inside her lips to dance with hers, the hand on her jaw sliding until he could cup the back of her head. Ro wrapped both of her hands around his twisted waist, clenching her fists in the fabric of his waistcoat. True to his word, it wasn’t a claiming like it had been with King. Boone danced equally with her, letting her lead just as much as he did, and while she wasn’t certain it was the smartest thing to do, she threw all caution to the wind.
Ro had started this plan insistent that she wouldn’t sleep with either man, and here she was, preparing to sleep with the second. If she was smart, she’d turn and walk away now, before she got herself in trouble, but she was exactly what the sheriff said—a troublemaker. Somehow, Boone and King slipped over her defenses, and that should have scared her. Instead, it almost felt like wild abandon, and although she made mistakes in the past, this didn’t feel like a cage.
Boone broke away and pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes closed. “You’re killin’ me, troublemaker,” he groaned. “This has to be the worst idea.”
“The worst ideas are always the most enjoyable,” Ro whispered, and she knew it was true.
Boone lifted her suddenly and turned her, setting her on his lap so that she straddled him on the steps. “You’re okay with this?” he asked, as if waiting for permission.
“I would never have come out here if I wasn’t.” She reached up and played with the buttons of his waistcoat, before popping them slowly free. “I don’t shy away from danger, sheriff,” she teased.
“You should. This could start a war between King and me.”
“See, I thought that at first too.” Ro loosened the waistcoat and pushed it back from his shoulders, immediately working on the buttons of his shirt beneath. “But then I got to know y’all. You’re Rexes. You’re both hardheaded and fierce. But y’all care about this town. You’d never turn it into a warzone over little ole me.”
Boone splayed his fingers over her ass and grinded her against his hardness. She gasped and worked faster on his shirt. “I’d do many things for you, troublemaker. God help me, you could break me, and I’d probably let you.”
“You don’t even know me,” Ro reminded him and herself. If he knew who she was, he’d never speak those things to her. Such pretty words were meant for proper women, not bank robbers and outlaws.
“I know enough.”
When Ro finished with his shirt and spread it wide, she sighed, tracing her fingers over the rippling muscle beneath. They quivered when she scraped her fingers across them, tensing. “One day, I’d really like to see you in your Rex form,” she breathed, trying to imagine the sheer magnitude and glory that Boone would be.
He chuckled. “Maybe I’ll take you for a ride.”
Ro’s smile fell, the words too close to ones she’d heard in the past, but Boone didn’t seem to notice. He leaned forward and placed his lips against her throat, drawing a gasp from her as he nipped and traced. He stood so suddenly that Ro almost squeaked. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and asked, “Where are we going?”
“Inside,” he replied against her skin, walking forward from memory rather than sight.
Ro expected him to take her to the bed, but she hadn’t expected such a large one. As a bachelor, she expected him to have a small bed. Instead, the bed was made for two and she tensed.
“You’re not married, are you?”
He laughed before trailing his lips up to her jaw and nipping her there. “No. No wife will barge in on us. I just like to spread out when I sleep.”
And then he tumbled them onto that bed, his fingers working the buttons of her shirt. Unlike King, Boone was patient as he loosened each button, anticipation dancing in his eyes as he kissed the skin that was revealed. Ro had chosen to forgo her undergarments this time, realizing they only got in the way, and she was never gladder than she was right then. When Boone exposed her breasts, he hummed low in his throat before taking a nipple into his mouth and sucking. She gasped and arched her back, threading her fingers into his thick hair.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured as he switched sides. His voice was like gravel, so husky and thick with arousal, it was a wonder how he was holding back his shift. And then his eyes met hers as she looked down and she saw the beast fighting to get out, his eyes flashing so bright she wondered how he could see.
Shrugging the shirt from his shoulders first, Boone started working on the fastening of her trousers, pulling them loose before dragging them down her legs. She helped by kicking off her boots. Laying naked beneath him, Boone drank her in, as if he was memorizing every detail. Her fingers started pulling at the fastenings of his pants, tugging until they popped free. He didn’t waste any time before he was shoving the material off and kicking everything aside. His cock popped free when he moved to undress, and Ro moaned.
A light scattering of hair coated his chest, and she scraped her fingers through the scruff before he covered her body with his again. Ro hooked her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck to tangle her fingers in his hair as he kissed her again. His arousal bumped against her thighs and she shifted, trying to force it where she wanted it to go, but Boone just chuckled against her lips.
“Patience, troublemaker,” he said, drawing back enough to meet her eyes. His were more dino than human, the blue almost swirling like the stars they’d been watching before.
“I’m not real patient,” she groaned, shifting her hips again.
“Me either.” His fingers trailed down to her core and she gasped when he tested her wetness, swirling a finger around her clit. Satisfied, he lined himself up before slowly easing inside. They both groaned as he worked deeper, pumping until he was all the way in, before he stopped moving.
Ro shifted again. “Slow isn’t really what I planned for,” she complained, moving against him.
“I’m trying to keep hold of my control,” Boone growled.
“I didn’t ask you to control yourself.”
“I could hurt you.”
“I dou
bt it.” Ro lifted his head up from where he’d been pressing his forehead against her chest and met his eyes. “I’m not so easily broken, Boone. Let go.”
“You forget who you’re talking to,” he rasped, and his eyes shifted. That quickly, scales flashed across his skin before fading away, held under check. They’d been green.
“I know exactly who I’m talking to,” Ro countered. “And you don’t scare me, sheriff.”
“Is this going to turn into a debate again?”
Ro grinned. “If you insist on this gentle and slow bullshit, it might.” She squeezed her core around him and his chest rumbled. “Let go.”
She pulled his mouth back to hers and kissed him furiously, her teeth clacking against his before she angled her head better. When he started to move again, pumping in with long strokes, Ro almost sighed in relief, but it still wasn’t enough. She released his mouth and kissed along his jaw, down the corded muscles of his neck, and to the sensitive skin where it met his shoulder. She focused her attention there as he thrust slow, measured strokes inside of her. “I told you to let go,” she growled, before clamping her teeth down on the sensitive muscle. Boone snarled and slammed inside her, making her cry out at the pleasurable pain.
“You bit me!” His voice was so rough, it was hard to understand him, his Rex just underneath the surface. Boone pulled out only to slam in again, drawing another cry to her lips.
“I’ll do it again,” Ro threatened on a gasp, “if you try to treat me like glass.”
Boone leaned back on his knees and wrapped his arms around her lower back, lifting her ass off the bed. He twisted his hips and Ro thought her eyes might roll back in her head from ecstasy. “You don’t know what you’re messing with,” he warned, his hips starting to pump inside of her faster. “I could easily snap you in half.”
“Good,” Ro breathed, her heart beating hard in her chest. It was difficult to focus when the sheriff kept rolling his hips every so often, when she was clearly going mad with arousal.
Rexes & Robbers Page 12
